BELGIAN NEWS OUTLET 7SUR7 GIVES PLATFORM TO A NAZI MAN AND NAZI SYMBOLS

A complaint by EFOMW requesting the Belgian news outlet 7sur7 remove photos with Nazi insignias from an article is ignored by the editors.

The article appeared on 15 February 2019 on 7sur7 provided a platform for Nazi symbols and to the opinion of a man, Georges Boeckstaens, who defines himself as a Hitler fan.

The piece reports that the public prosecutor in the town of Louvain opened a case on the individual and mentions past court cases involving him. The information in the story is, however, not treated critically, but rather contributes to normalising manifestations of Nazism today, spreading his views, and considering them as legitimate. Furthermore, the photos used in the article show the man using a Nazi salute as well as Nazi flags and symbols outside his house. Ironically, the article reports about Belgium’s law on Holocaust denial whilst spreading these images, but by giving a platform to such imagery, 7sur7 is helping spread Boeckstaens’ hateful Nazi rhetoric.

EFOMW, GTTO partner, complained to the editors of 7sur7, questioning the editorial choices that led to the publication of an article that disseminates Nazi symbols. EFOMW highlighted how dangerous and unethical it is to use distressing images that offer no informational value to the public. This story, wrote EFOWM, could have been reported in a more professional and critical way without using these images. At the time of writing, 7sur7 has not yet replied to EFOMW.